TUESDAY, JULY 1 2014 >>>

1. This year's foreign-language Oscar submission from Germany Zwei Leben casts Norwegian legend Liv Ullmann and German star Juliane Koehler as a mother and daughter in Norway whose relationship and extended family are shaken to the core by revelations brought about by the fall of the Berlin Wall. But when a lawyer asks the tow to witness in a trial against the Norwegian state on behalf of the war children, there's resistance. Gradually, a web of concealments and secrets is unveiled. Catch the film at 2:30 and 6:45 p.m. at The Grand Cinema.

2. The USA has done what everyone thought impossible, advancing to the second round (the knockout stage) of the World Cup and giving us more excuses to hit bars on weekdays - as if we needed any. USA now takes on Belgium at 1 p.m. in a match that's win or go home. So throw on that stinky red, white, and blue shirt you superstitiously haven't washed in two weeks and consider this a month long 4th of July celebration. 

3. Westside Olympia is happening, but that's not news to those who live up on the hill. If you want proof, drop by the Tuesday West Olympia Farmers Market from 4-7 p.m. In addition to an awesome selection of local vendors, this season features live music, raffles and special events. Drop by for fresh produce, baked goods, pastured poultry and meats, flowers, veggie starts and crafts.

4. The Washington Army National Guard's 133rd Army Band, which is comprised of more than 40 citizen-soldiers, is in summer mode, which means free outdoor concerts loaded with patriotic tunes. The 133rd Army Band was organized and recognized in the Washington Army National Guard in 1924 as the Band Section Battery of the 146th Field Artillery. Over the years it has been re-designated many times, standing proud today as the 133rd Army Band. Load up the low rising chairs, blankets and kids in the family truckster and head toward Skansie Brothers Park and catch the band from 5-8 p.m. with beautiful Gig Harbor in the background.

5. Minneapolis trio Web of Sunsets brings their off-center country hymns to Le Voyeur at 9 p.m.

LINK: Tuesday, July 1 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Till all are one, this is Nerd Alert, the Weekly Volcano's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak.

FRIDAY, JULY 4

The Fourth of July arrives on a Friday this year, so any reasonable person would expect a three-car pileup of blockbuster movie releases. I'm a reasonable person, give or take, so it took several minutes for me to verify no such cascade of cinematic wonderment is forthcoming. The Melissa McCarthy comedy Tammy will be in theaters Wednesday, as will the cop horror flick Deliver Us from Evil and veritable E.T. remake Earth to Echo, but that's all she wrote. Apparently the studios thought Transformers: Age of Extinction (whatever that means) will still be guzzling the bills from your wallet. Perhaps they're right, but at time of writing, its reviews inspire as much confidence as a C from the Health Department or the endorsement of Glenn Beck. We're talking RottenTomatoes.com scores in the teens. The word "rancid" has been tossed around, which see critic James Rocchi of About.com, who also implies Trans4mers: What the Hell Ever is an act of Chinese terrorism.

I have questions about the Transformers movies - nay, the Transformers themselves. If one's goal is to be deceptive, isn't calling oneself a Decepticon a poor choice? Why do Transformers fight with swords and martial arts, when it's clear they all have guns? Aren't they basically made out of guns? Why are so many characters in these movies, including the robots, defined by their ethnicities? Has Michael Bay apologized for those stereotypically "ghetto" robots in the second one yet? (I challenge you to find an inoffensive way to even describe them. They make Jar Jar Binks look and sound like Mr. Peanut.) Whatever happened to Megan Fox? Who cleans a motorcycle like that? What exactly are the Autobots and Decepticons fighting about? Is this a Hatfields-and-McCoys type of thing? Have they tried economic sanctions? If these robots are powered by the Allspark, what happens when somebody puts gasoline in Bumblebee? How did Bumblebee come by that name? Do they even have bumblebees on ... wait, I'm looking it up ... Cybertron? Is the planet really called Cybertron? By whom? It seems a bit on-the-nose. Do they also have vintage Camaros on Cybertron? And dinosaurs? That breathe fire? To sum up: are these movies written by Sid from Toy Story? Is there even a writer? I mean, yawn.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 9

Academy- and Razzie-Award-winning actress Halle Berry stars in her first TV series, Extant. It's produced by Steven Spielberg and debuts Wednesday at 9. Ms. Berry plays an astronaut who comes home after a year in space and attempts to reconnect with her husband and son. Meanwhile, she'll take intermittent control of the weather, an unconvincing parade of white wigs, and enough cats to give Andrew Lloyd Webber a migraine. According to showrunner Greg Walker, Extant addresses the thematic question, "What makes us human?" I guess my question to Walker is, are you telling us you don't know? Is it really that difficult a question? Have you found yourself attracted to Camaros?

We're less than a year from the release dates of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World. If Harrison Ford recovers from his on-set leg injury, we're 17 months from Star Wars, Episode VII, and Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper) was just named auteur of Episode VIII. We have lots more Star Trek and superhero movie installments in our future. DC's getting Wonder Woman off the ground at long last. The big-screen adaptation of Ready Player One is moving forward again; I imagine its director will be named soon. These are welcome developments, to be sure. But I'm also old enough to remember big-budget genre entertainment that came out of nowhere: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, Gremlins, The Matrix. Those movies weren't adapted from anything other than creative folks' wild imaginations. This decade, such surprises are slim on the ground.

Edge of Tomorrow was a decent start, but even that seemed cobbled together from old favorites. The inevitable Halo film will look much the same. Here's hoping Interstellar from Christopher Nolan (due in November) or Brad Bird's Tomorrowland (May of 2015) have exciting and groundbreaking visions to share. It's rare for studios to trust us to recognize great new material, but we need to leave something for unimaginative people in the 2030s to rip off. Can I get a witness? Amen.

Until next week, may the Force be with you, may the odds be ever in your favor, and may these kids today with their iPads and Autobots grump grump grump.

SUNDAY, JUNE 29 2014 >>>

1. Early summer in the South Sound means changing warmer weather, adding a boa and checking out the pride festivals. In conjunction with Olympia Capital City Pride event last weekend, the Olympia Film Society presents the 2014 Pride Film Festival, closing today at the Capitol Theater. Today's screenings include My Prairie Home and Dating Sucks: A Genderqueer Misadventure at 2:30 p.m., Appropriate Behavior and Vecinas at 5 p.m., and Cupcakes, First Date and Becoming Flirty at 7:30 p.m. MC Flirticia Fondue closes the night out.

2. The Tacoma Benefit Jam and Feed is now a quarterly endeavor, bringing together musicians and food to raise money for a charity. Bring your instruments from an afternoon of bluegrass, jazz, swing, and old time from 1-5 p.m. at the Vaeth Mansion, 422 N. E St. in Tacoma. The suggested $15 donations ($10 donations for musicians) will benefit Sister Cities International. A buffet will be available throughout the jam, with food, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages included in exchange for your generous donations.

3. Lakewood Playhouse never seems to disappoint and their most recent production is no exception. People who don't like Monty Python humor, also known as fuddy duddies, might want to skip it but for everyone else, Spamalot (books and lyrics by Eric Idle) will have them laughing, whistling and singing even after the show. Director John Munn's brilliant cast and crew could not have done a better job. Read Joann Varnell's full review of Spamalot in the Music & Culture section, then catch the show at 2 p.m.

4. The Social Bar and Grill's patio is a lovely spot to while away a weekend afternoon, sipping cocktails and old world red wine and watching condo residents walk their dogs. Come Sunday afternoon, resident DJ Mr. Melanin and rotating guests spin an eclectic and extremely tasteful selection of lounge, bossa nova and electro soul music 2-6 p.m. This triple threat of delicious happy hour specials, sun and hip tunes is known as Tacoma's only daytime summer party, "Dayclub."

5. Today marks the closing of the 20th anniversary of the Olympia Experimental Music Festival. Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on the Olympia Experimental Music Festival in the Music & Culture section, then catch Replikants, Malaise, Derek M. Johnson, L.A. Lungs, Four Dimensional Nightmare vs. Infradead and Overdose the Katatonic from 4-8 p.m. at Northern in downtown Olympia.

LINK: Sunday, June 29 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

All right, enough, everybody. Just, enough! I don't know who to blame for the Transformers franchise, but surely there's some dark puppet master somewhere in the center of the earth that's pulling the strings for this ongoing series of car wrecks. I'm inclined to blame BuzzFeed, for their unending tour of millennial nostalgia, but I have the distinct impression that BuzzFeed only scratches the sinister surface.

We've somehow made it to the fourth Transformers film, which does have a pretentious subtitle, but I refuse to give it the dignity of typing it out - because, honestly, if this thing isn't called Trans4mers, I don't even know what we're doing anymore.

If we're in the business of doling out compliments for the Transformers franchise - which, I assure you, we are not - then that compliment shall come in the form of finally ridding known plagiarist (and suspected sociopath) Shia LaBeouf from the proceedings. In his stead is Mark Wahlberg, who hilariously makes a reference to being from Texas, even though his voice can only be believable when saying something about parking his car in Harvard Yard.

From then on, it's a parade of Michael Bay-isms - non-stop Dutch angles, obnoxious filters and ominous intonations about the fate of Transformers, as if they weren't just stupid toys. I don't know if you need special eyes to follow the action of a Transformers movie, but that would explain why I can't see these robots as anything other than what would happen if a junkyard somehow got food poisoning.

Should we somehow find ourselves in a dystopian world where we've reached the 10th Transformers movie - years after Michael Bay has used his weather machine to coerce the planet into giving him our every resource - please let me be long dead. Barring that, let me be the man to take on a Valkyrie-esque mission to bring Michael Bay's reign of terror to an end.

It'll be left to the nerd history books to unravel just what went so catastrophically wrong with X-Men: The Last Stand (though, let it be said, The Last Stand looks like Citizen Kane compared to X-Men Origins: Wolverine). What we know for certain is that Brett Ratner did no one any favors when he brought his clunky directorial style to the proceedings.

Far be it for Ratner to take all of the blame, however. There was a man named Zak Penn lurking behind the scenes. As the writer for The Last Stand, Penn should shoulder a bit of the blame. But, as you may be thinking, what's one clunker? Everyone makes mistakes! Ah, but, a cursory examination of Penn's IMDB page paints a more disturbing picture. Penn was also the man behind Elektra (which, ugh) and the Inspector Gadget movie.

Still, there's a time for redemption with all of us, and it may come for Penn in the form of his adaptation of Ready Player One, a film that's been long in the gestation process. It's based on a well-liked, breezy, young adult novel about a futuristic world wherein all of mankind lives in a virtual online game. If Penn wants to wrench his nerd cred from the clutches of mediocrity, now is his chance.

Monday, June 30

In local nerd events, Monday sees the arrival of June's installment of Creative Colloquy. In addition to being a literary website, Creative Colloquy doubles as a monthly writing showcase bringing local authors together to read their works for an audience. Previous participants in the live readings include this fine rag's own Christian Carvajal, as well as Nick Stokes and L. Lisa Lawrence, including many others.

This month's edition will focus on works of young adult fiction. Writers featured on Monday include New York Times Bestselling Author Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles), Michaela Eaves (42 Sketches), Brook Ellen West (The Blood Keeper's Prophecy), Karen Harris Tully, and the winner of Creative Colloquy's Youth Writer Contest, Hawwa Alam.

For fans of the written word, as I should hope you all are, this is a great way to discover new talent and get exposed to local voices. The literary scene in Tacoma is one that could use some nourishing, and that's thankfully coming more often in the form of stuff like Creative Colloquy and Post Defiance's upcoming reading silent reading series, SHUT IT (AKA "Silent Happy Uninterrupted Time for Intoxicating Texts") at the Hotel Murano.

In short: read a book!

CREATIVE COLLOQUY, 7 p.m., B Sharp Coffee House, 706 Opera Alley, Tacoma, no cover, 253.292.9969

TUESDAY, JUNE 24 2014 >>>

1. Before Larry David and Ricky Gervais cornered the market on cringe-inducing comedy, there was Alan Partridge. For those unfamiliar with Partridge, he is a fictional pedantic media whore portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan, who started out as a sports reporter before graduating to a TV host. Partridge has had many ups and downs in his life. National television broadcaster. Responsible for killing a guest on live TV. Local radio broadcaster. A nervous breakdown in Dundee. The Grand Cinema screens the self-titled film portraying the events of the greatest low-to-high-ebb spectrum in Partridge's life to date - specifically how he tries to salvage his public career while negotiating a potentially violent turn of events at North Norfolk Digital Radio. See Coogan's awesome comic timing at 2:30 and 6:45 p.m.

2. The Tacoma Regional Convention + Visitor Bureau is opening up a brand-spanking new visitor center and is at the ready to celebrate. From 10 a.m. to noon, the general public is cordially invited to the grand opening and unveiling of the new Tacoma Visitor Information Center at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center in downtown Tacoma. Admission is free and all are welcome. Games, prizes, personalities and a mayoral welcome are the orders of the day. 

3. Pastels have a bad rep, often deserved, but not always. The name is associated with soft and pretty colors, and pastel as a media has long been thought of as a media of sweet grandmothers who take it up as a hobby - despite the example of Edgar Degas, who revolutionized pastel art with layered and heavily textured works as far back as 1880. That influence is still very evident in the NW Pastel Society's 28th Annual International Open Exhibition from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at American Art Company.

4. Known as a premiere wolf facility in the United States, Wolf Haven is also one of the most unusual, both in its work for restoration and protection of wolves and because formerly captive wolves are not allowed to breed out of the fear of contributing to captive populations. Wolf Haven educators, Skie Bender and Cindy Irwin, will be at the Tumwater Timberland Library today to present two programs: a workshop on the wolf's role in nature and a discussion of the current status of wolves in Washington. "The Wolf Café," a workshop designed for children and families, will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. Participants will learn about the wolf's diet and how the animal is adapted for its role as a key predator. The Wolves of Washington, which is geared to adults, will be from 6 to 7 p.m. The presentation covers the history of wolves in the state, what happened to them, where our wolves are coming from today, current numbers, legal status, and conflicts.

5. Usually when you go to the casino you just lose money - but tonight could be different. Danny Vernon's Illusions of Elvis will be at the Red Wind Casino. Travel out to Yelm and have a great time with the King's likeness, starting at 6:30 p.m. 

LINK: Tuesday, June 24 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

SUNDAY, JUNE 22 2014 >>>

1. It's like money in dog years. For FISH Food Banks of Pierce County, every dollar raised has seven times the buying power. Based on this math, last year's Maurice The Fish Records benefit concert brought in nearly $50,000 to help feed the hungry. This year's FISH Food Benefit Concert has eight bands taking the stage at the all-ages, family friendly 3-7 p.m. show at Louie G's in Fife. Musical artists span many genres and include: James Coates, Champagne Sunday, Vividal, Moss Brothers, The Approach, Tin Man, Nolan Garrett and Strangely Alright. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on the FISH Food Benefit Concert in the Music & Culture section.

2. Capital City Pride began under the aegis of Rainbow Center Olympia. Back then, the festival drew a few hundred people. Now as many as 10,000 celebrants converge on a two-day extravaganza that marks the climax of a very busy year for the organization. Today marks day two of the fabulous celebration with The Pride Parade at noon followed by another full day of music. There will be information and food booths in the park, a marvelous kids' area with activities provided by the Hands On Children's Museum, lots of speechifying and, of course, drag performances.

3. If you are looking for a quiz that calls for more than sitting on a stool with a pint of beer, or if you have killer knowledge of Tacoma history that you feel compelled to show off, then this trivia game is for you. Today you can test your local authority against other history buffs. The Tacoma History Hike is a high-suspense, high-speed scavenger hunt that begins at the Washington State History Museum and leads you to a variety of checkpoints within a 1.5-mile radius, allowing you to walk, run, skip or bike the course. Each checkpoint provides the answer to a question of Tacoma-related historical trivia. Collect as many as you can in the time allotted, and return to the museum for music, awards, goody bags and admission. There is still walk-up registration at 12:30 p.m. with the race at 2 p.m.

4. The Social Bar and Grill's patio is a lovely spot to while away a weekend afternoon, sipping cocktails and old world red wine and watch condo residents walk their dogs. Come Sunday afternoon, resident DJ Mr. Melanin and rotating guests spin an eclectic and extremely tasteful selection of lounge, bossa nova and electro soul music 2-6 p.m. This triple threat of delicious happy hour specials, sun and hip tunes is known as Tacoma's only daytime summer party, "Dayclub."

5. Seattle film director Megan Griffiths' latest film, Lucky Them, stars Toni Collette as a Seattle rock journalist who is ordered by her magazine's editor, played by Oliver Platt, to search for a long lost rock god who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend. In the story she teams up with an eccentric amateur documentary filmmaker played by Thomas Haden Church.  Read Jared Lovrak's review of Lucky Them in our Music & Culture section, and then chat with Griffiths after the 2 and 4:20 p.m. screenings at The Grand Cinema.

BONUS: Don't get stuck watching the World Cup games cornered in some dingy bar with a 10-year-old TV and '80s classic hits on the radio. Doyle's Public House's giant tent with two huge TVs (and a bar) will make it feel like you're along the Amazon watching the games (minus the Piranhas). USA takes on Portugal today at 3 p.m.      

LINK: Sunday, June 22 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Think Like a Man Too uses the same sequel-titling pun as Look Who's Talking Too, which makes sense, seeing as both films are about a bunch of talking babies - though, in the case of Kevin Hart, it's basically just all screaming.

Here we are, gazing into the abyss that is the sequel to the film adaptation of Steve Harvey's odious relationship advice book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. This is the rare bit of self-help book that manages to reduce both sexes to their basest stereotypes. Men are pigs; so women must know how to think like them, so as to better combat their piggishness. Women, however, must remain pure and true, despite the gender warfare being ignited by this very book. See what I mean?

The first film, Think Like a Man, existed in a strange universe where not only did Steve Harvey's book exist, but all women read it and utilized its tips to torment their suitors. Once men caught on, they surreptitiously tried to counter by double-bluffing that they were really sweet guys, and no one ever said anything honest forever and ever the end.

There's not much more to say about the trailer for this sequel, except to emphasize that it may be the loudest trailer you'll find this side of a Transformers movie. What I will say is that, with the current climate of men's rights activists rearing their ugly heads in increasingly damaging ways, any film that hinges its plot on the "battle of the sexes" is fundamentally part of the problem.

There's nothing wrong with mediocre movies, like this one likely is, but once toxic gender politics come in to play, there's just no way of viewing this piece of work as anything other than queasy and woefully ignorant.

TUESDAY, JUNE 17 2014 >>>

1. The Gypsters is a band that, whether or not they intended it, reminded us of bands like Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show and the Fugs, even though they stylistically don't quite connect. Like the aforementioned bands, the Gypsters are serious about making music, but their songs sometimes lend themselves to trenchant observations about life and what it means to make music for a living. Let's take their song "$250 Fine" for an example; after a cacophony of punk and horn bursts, a voice comes in: "$250 fine (that's the noise ordinance). $250 fine (violation)." Then another prolonged squall. ... Read Rev. Adam McKinney's full feature on The Gypsters in the Music and Culture section, then catch the band with Noise Toys at 10 p.m. in Le Voyeur.

2. The Grand Cinema screens The Unknown Known, which consists primarily of Donald Rumsfeld, Bush's Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006, answering questions posed off-camera by Errol Morris: No one else is interviewed. The film also draws from the 20,000 memos that Rumsfeld dictated over a four-decade-long political career. Rumsfeld himself gamely reads excerpts from the memos, which recipients nicknamed "snowflakes." Catch it at 1:40 and 6:35 p.m.

3. King's Books will discuss Two Boys Kissing - a book that captures the struggle and the history of the LGBT past and melds it with the present and the future - at its monthly Banned Book Club meeting at Doyle's Public House at 7 p.m. The other struggle will be trying to discuss the book at Doyle's during the World Cup and St. Practice Day hoopla (5 p.m. Guinness salute, Fields of Clover band at 8 p.m.).

4. The Electric Magpie show dashes of Canned Heat peak out from underneath the layers of Zombies, Turtles and Kinks. Pastoral folk-rock trades blows with heavy blues, and the trilling organs are there the whole way, planting squiggly ear worms in the listener. The Electric Magpie are signed to the Lolipop Records label, a California hub of psych-rock revivalists. Northern will be host to a 7 p.m. showcase of fellow Lolipop Records labelmates, including the far-out haze of Mystic Braves, the moody stomp of Corners, and the shoegaze-leaning fuzz of Burning Palms.

5. You are getting sleepy, v-e-r-y sleepy. Now, go see the hypnotist show at 8 p.m. inside the Red Wind Casino. Whether a skeptic or believer, the show will be sure to entertain with its comedy, rock and roll and outrageous hypnosis, like people sneezing and having orgasms(!) when Ron Stubbs, the man behind the magic, utters the word "pepper."

LINK: Tuesday, June 17 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

Suff'ring very midsummer madness, this is Nerd Alert, the Weekly Volcano's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak.

So Punxsutawney Tom kept repeating the day, right? Till he figured out a way to save Emily Blunt from the squiddies? Or am I still confused? I bet I'm still confused. I feel confused. I've been drinking.

THURSDAY, JUNE 19

Thursday marks the premiere of A Rock ‘n' Roll Twelfth Night at Harlequin Productions - well, not really, as the troupe has already staged its homegrown extravaganza (which it adapted from a story by, I don't know, some guy) three times before. Still, if music be the food of love, rock on! Duke Orsino's a King now, Countess Olivia is a Material Girl and Sir Toby Belch demands cakes and ale with his rubber biscuit. Plus, you'll need to look at actor Christian Doyle twice to make sure the great John Lennon hasn't returned from (imagining there's no) Heaven. Harlequin's summer music revues are always a heap of fun, and this one's a particular Olympia favorite.

A ROCK ‘N' ROLL TWELFTH NIGHT, 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through July 20, Harlequin Productions, 202 4th Ave. E, Olympia, $25-$38, 360.786.0151

>>> A Rock 'N' Roll Twelfth Night rehearsals rocked at Harlequin Productions. Photo courtesy of Facebook

If Shakespearean rock opera doesn't blow a soothing draft up your pantaloons, Monty Python's Spamalot continues at Lakewood Playhouse (253.588.0042), while Tacoma Little Theatre presents a view from behind the cameras of Gone with the Wind in the 2004 dramedy Moonlight and Magnolias (253.272.2281).

Speaking of plays, it's kind of strange there aren't any major new movie releases this weekend, though we are getting two adaptations of successful Broadway shows. One is Jersey Boys, ported over from the jukebox biopic of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It's directed by Clint Eastwood, because why the hell not. The other is David Ives' script-to-screenplay scorcher Venus in Fur, a study in sexual perversity. It's directed by Roman Polanski, who should know.

SATURDAY, JUNE 21

Are you in Clone Club? Please tell me you know what that means. Please, please tell me my wife and I aren't adoring Orphan Black in local isolation. This BBC (by way of Canada) series boasts the supernaturally talented Tatiana Maslany as an entire sorority of clones, each more distinctive and surprising than the last. This year, to mix things up, one is female-to-male transgendered. Oh, and by the way, somebody shot Marvin in the face! - if, by "Marvin" I'm obliquely referring to Max Headroom. Look, I know that's confusing, but I'm trying not to give too much away for folks who're just now discovering the show. Trust me: it's one of the most binge-worthy televised entertainments on our continent, so you owe it to yourself to catch up before tonight's 9 p.m. finale on BBC America. Don't make me sic Helena on your Prolethian ass.

Ka-chow! If you don't know whose uninspired catchphrase that is, your kids do. Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and their internally combustible friends return in Pixar's Cars, screening tonight as a free drive-in movie courtesy of LeMay - America's Car Museum. Oh, and if you start craving movie snacks, check out the sweet eats cooked up by Pacific Grill.

CARS, dusk (about 9 p.m.), Haub Family Showfield, 2702 E. D St., Tacoma, free, 253.779.8490

Until next week, may the Force be with you, may the odds be ever in your favor, and may you crush the lead role in Blood Ties: The Musical. After all, it's not Cats!